01/09/2013

Personal and Career Issues are Tightly Interwoven

Current ACA Counseling Today article emphasizes NCDA belief

ACA members reading the January 2013 issue of Counseling Today will note the value of career counseling when working with all clients, as the theme of the issue is “Interweaving career and personal counseling.” In Lynne Shallcross' article, “Making Life Work,” Ms Shallcross emphasizes this valid point with the help of several NCDA members. Read the full article online at http://ct.counseling.org/2013/01/making-life-work/

Here are a few relevant quotes from the CT article:

“People are realizing there are few things more personal to them than career choice,” said Spencer Niles, former NCDA President.

“The changing nature of work, learning and family leads counselors within any specialty to explore the connection among personal, career and well-being issues,” says Rich Feller, current NCDA President.

“The role that work plays in people’s lives varies greatly. Therefore, the types of issues people seek counseling to help them manage are likely to include aspects of their working life,” says Thomas Ayala, who runs a private practice in Oregon.

Roberta Neault (co-author of the 2010 book Career Flow: A Hope-Centered Approach to Career Development with Niles and Norman Amundson), stated, “Counseling without attending to career-related issues leaves a very important aspect of one’s life out of the conversation. Research has demonstrated that optimism is the single best predictor of career success and job satisfaction. Therefore, it makes sense that enhancing optimism and hope will positively impact the client’s job satisfaction and career success and, in turn, positively impact other key areas in his or her life.”

“We [as career counselors] need to have good listening skills just like a [general] counselor, but we also have to have that additional layer of knowledge of what the trends in the industry are,” says Cheri Butler, former NCDA President.

“Framing career counseling from a narrative viewpoint allows clients to feel more control over their lives, Pamelia Brott says, whether they want to change career paths or continue in the same direction they have already been traveling. 'By uncovering the patterns, themes and significant people and events that have occurred in previous chapters of the life story, the client identifies preferences for future chapters across [his or her] life roles,' Brott says.”

NCDA is a founding division of ACA, the American Counseling Association. NCDA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013.